Wednesday, August 7, 2013

PPR Mock Draft with the Sporting News Experts

Just participated in my 3rd mock draft of the preseason with the Sporting News Fantasy Source Experts. This was our only PPR draft, so it was interesting to see how differently things played out.

You can see the entire draft on the Fantasy Source in the next day or so. For now, here's what I did from the 7 slot in a 12-man league.

Pick 1.7: C.J. Spiller, RB, Bills. Would've been happy getting him with the 3rd pick. Ecstatic that he slid this far. Yes, I have a man-crush on CJ this season. (For reference, two years ago I was head-over-heels for Shady McCoy. Last year, AJ Green was my guy.) I was sold on Spiller even before I read this quote from his offensive coordinator:It's real simple. We're going to give him the ball until he throws up. So he's either got to tap out or throw up on the field. Let's just put it that way.

Pick 2.6: Drew Brees, QB, Saints. As far as I'm concerned, I won the first two rounds. Got my top QB and my #2 RB.

Pick 3.7: Vincent Jackson, WR, Buccaneers. It's easy to forget he was the #6 fantasy WR in the league last year. And yet he was the 12th WR off the board tonight. I get that; I was actually upset that Randall Cobb was snagged right before this pick.

Pick 4.6: Antonio Brown, WR, Steelers. I would have taken DeMarco Murray, but he went at 4.5. Brown should be a PPR machine this year, so I'm probably better off. That said, my RB corps will suffer.

Pick 5.7: David Wilson, RB, Giants. Amazing how picked-over the RBs were at this point. I thought hard about taking Jason Witten, but felt I had to grab my RB2 here. If Wilson remains the starter and gets the majority of the carries, this will be a great pick.

Pick 6.6: Vernon Davis, TE, 49ers. Alas, Witten was gone, as was Gonzo. I guess Davis was a good pick, because Martellus Bennett went next! To me, the gulf between those two TEs is vast.

Pick 7.7: T.Y. Hilton, WR, Colts. He's on my target list in every league this season. One of my favorite sleepers, I foresee big things for Hilton as Reggie Wayne continues to slip another step or two.

Pick 8.6: Mark Ingram, RB, Saints. The pickins were slim indeed.

Pick 9.7: Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers. Wish I knew which back will take the lead this year in Carolina. I guess if we knew, J-Stew would either go much higher, or much lower.

Pick 10.6: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Texans. Another one of my sleeper picks, this rookie has huge upside working opposite AJ. That said, I just missed out on Justin Blackmon, who I would have preferred here. Hopkins may have slid another round.

Pick 11.7: Fred Jackson, RB, Bills. Possibly the most valuable handcuff in the NFL, mostly because he has plenty of tread left on his tires. He could probably start for half the teams in the league. When you own Spiller, who admittedly has an injury history, F-Jax is absolutely mandatory.

Pick 12.6: Seahawks defense/special teams. The 49ers went one pick before, but Seattle is my top DST.

Pick 13.7: Matt Schaub, QB, Texans. Once again, he lasts way too long. I'll take him here every time.

Pick 14.6: Riley Cooper, WR, Eagles. You can guess the reaction this pick elicited. And I probably pulled the trigger a couple of rounds early. But all signs point to Cooper being the WR2 in Philly this year. Given the other available options, I held my nose and took the racist jerk.

Pick 15.7: Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Steelers. He could be Pittsburgh's starting back at some point this season. For what that's worth.

Pick 16.6: Matt Prater, K, Broncos. I generally prefer to take my kicker in the penultimate round so I can get one of the 3-4 elite options I prefer. Especially when there's no other player on the board that I give a damn about.

Pick 17.7: Brandon Lloyd, WR, FA. He's become my go-to flier in the last round. I figure Lloyd has gotta land somewhere soon; and when he does, he just might become a factor.

There you have it. Love my QBs. A little concerned about my RBs. WRs are solid, but probably won't carry my team. Oh well. It's always hard to love your team in a 12-man league.

4 comments:

always always always draft RB RB. There are plenty of QBs and WRs to take later but RBs are in short demand. If you have a flex spot I would even go RB RB RB. I have been playing for 10 years and won it all 4 times in a 12 team league. I usually draft anywhere between 10 to 12 because it goes by last years results. if yours is the same and your drafting 7th you did real bad last year and time to change your strategy.

Welcome home, Fools!

2011 and 2010 Football Writer of the Year

Fantasy Fools on Facebook

About the Chief Fool

Ladd Biro was named 2010 "Football Writer of the Year" by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association -- the most prestigious recognition in the biz. In 2011, he won again -- the only two-time winner in the FSWA's history. He also won for "Best Humor Column of 2011," across all sports. He was a finalist for the FFWOY Award again in 2013 and 2014, but was denied the threepeat in the kind of bribery/shakedown/ payola scandal more commonly associated with FIFA. Ladd's nationally syndicated columns have appeared in more than 20 publications -- including the Dallas Morning News, San Francisco Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Sun-Times and Sporting News magazine -- since 2003. Since 2009, all his written fantasy content can be found on the Fantasy Fools blog.